


Soulmates

by PhazonFire



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, magical lesbians, takes place in between games, vague mentions of Yukari like 40 times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 06:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11641293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhazonFire/pseuds/PhazonFire
Summary: In a realm of Yokai, being a human might as well be akin to a needle in a haystack. Reimu's got something she needs to get off her chest, and a drinking buddy always makes things right.





	Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> Mild alcohol use.

It never failed to amaze Reimu that in a world so unpredictable as to spawn countless Yokai every morning, noon and night, each with their own agenda, that she could always expect Marisa’s presence in the Hakurei Temple at the same exact time every evening, heavily accompanied by the stench of alcohol. Whether that was Suika’s doing or her own, Reimu genuinely didn’t care--the novelty of being human in Gensokyo wore off quickly enough to warrant a descent into alcoholism for the two girls, every time and without fail. As such, it was no surprise when Marisa, too drunk to even haul herself up the steps of the shrine, collapsed unceremoniously in front of the donation box. 

“This is the third time,” Reimu whined, “since you’ve gotten a hold of that last batch of sake, that you’ve seriously come here with the intent of crashing at the shrine. Again.”

“I don’t care,” Marisa spat back, muffled against the pavement as she tenderly tried to spit out a leaf. “I live here now.”

“Get up, please. I have things I need to do tonight, and you being here is only going to drag me down.”

“Nahh, I’m good.” With an ungraceful shove, Marisa catapulted herself up onto the steps beside Reimu, genuinely not caring how much of an upskirt shot she was shooting at the shrine maiden. “Besides, I’m bored as hell anyway.”

“So you being bored means that you can just show up whenever you feel like, completely inebriated, and interrupt my schedule?”

Marisa giggled. “You’re just pissed I didn’t bring you any.”

Reimu rolled her eyes, but knew where this was going anyway. “Hand it over or I’m calling someone to haul you out of here, be it face first or feet first, I don’t care.”

“I gotcha, I gotcha,” Marisa chuckled, pulling what remained of a flask of sake out of her knapsack. Reimu cringed--that was Suika’s scent, alright. 

“Give it,” she growled, practically snatching the liquor out of Marisa’s hands. “Honestly, you’d think as a human you’d understand my aggravation by now enough to not provoke me past my limits.”

“You don’t have limits,” Marisa mumbled, to which Reimu lightly slapped the magician on the back of her head. 

“You know what I mean,” Reimu muttered, sipping at the flask angrily, watching as Marisa made herself comfortable on the steps of the shrine. Again. “I hate that I’ve been reduced to confiding in you.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean? I thought we were soulmates.”

“As if. Honestly, if anyone was going to be my soulmate, it would probably be the gap witch.”

“You wouldn’t,” Marisa sneered playfully. “And after all of my loving advances towards you?”

Reimu couldn’t help cracking a grin. “You’re not my type.”

“Sorry, I forgot you’re a Yokai fetishist,” Marisa shot back. “If you’re going to say something, just say it.”

“Listen, in all seriousness, the point I’m trying to make is that, for better or worse, the two of us are needles in a haystack. Humans alone with one another in a world populated by more or less monsters.”

“Are we including Patchouli?” Marisa muttered. 

“Including everyone. Might as well be including you,” the shrine maiden replied with a smirk that Marisa easily returned. 

“I guess I...I’m genuinely trying to thank you, for once,” she continued.

“Chalk that up to “things that’ll never happen again”.”

“Would you just accept my apologies for ten minutes before I go back to wanting to beat you over the head with a purification rod?”

“Reimu,” Marisa started, the remainder of her sentence fizzling out unceremoniously. This wasn’t a topic that had ever been touched upon, let alone discussed on in-depth. Being the shrine maiden of Gensokyo’s border obviously stood as a daunting task, but Reimu had always handled the incidents thrown her way with aplomb, labeling Marisa as a pesky-yet-occasionally-useful sidekick. She’d grown used to their constant cycle of bickering and cooperation, to the point where she was positive it was commonplace--to hear otherwise, honestly, was startling.

“You...you could’ve told me all of that earlier, you know.”

“I know, I know,” Reimu continued, setting the half-empty flask down at her side and scooting slightly closer to Marisa on the steps. “I guess I just didn’t want you thinking I was weak.”

Marisa blinked. “Thinking what? You’re the Hakurei shrine maiden, for hell’s sake. Why would I ever think that? Why would you even care what I think to begin with?”

“Because,” Reimu said with exasperation, “the only opinion I can trust in Gensokyo is that of another human. And not just a human, at that, or I could’ve gone to Sanae or maybe Sakuya. It had to be the opinion of someone close. Of someone I know like the back of my hand.”

“But my opinion doesn’t matter. What I think isn’t--”

“Of course it matters,” Reimu practically shouted. “You think that just because you piss me off sometimes means I don’t care? About anything you have to say? Do you honestly think that little of me?”

Marisa began to sweat. Reimu had never been this devoted to any conversation that she could recall in recent memory. “Why me? Why not Sakuya, or Sanae, or that freakin’ gap witch? Why would you care?”

“Because I--” the shrine maiden cut herself off, a lump bubbling up in her throat that sent an unpleasant tightness throughout her body. “I just...do. Only when it’s you.”

The two girls sat in silence, content to watch the sun set over the torii gates at the entrance to the shrine. A crumbling leaf blew past on occasion, vaguely breaking Marisa out of her stupor before Reimu’s words settled back on her like a thick fog. The stillness between them was practically unbearable, and Marisa knew she would crack soon enough. Might as well get it over with now.

“What are you trying to say? That you need me because I’m...a human?”

“Yes, well, I mean, not exactly,” Reimu stuttered. “I...this wasn’t something I thought I’d be talking about with you anytime soon.”

“Then get it off your chest now. We’re soulmates, right?” Marisa offered with a soft smile.

“It’s not that simple. I can’t just...say this one.”

The magician scoffed. “You can solve incidents in your sleep but you can’t admit a teeny tiny little secret to ol’ Marisa?”

“It’s bigger than you think. It’s...I shouldn’t even be talking about this with you, honestly.”

“Does this have anything to do with why you don’t want to see me lately?” Marisa asked so quietly Reimu almost didn’t catch it, a note of lingering sadness in her voice.

“It’s not you. Well, it is you. I...I give up.”

“If I did something to make you angry, you might as well just tell me already. Don’t stress me out over it.” Reimu’s eyes drifted towards Marisa, who seemed almost...depressed. The sight made her uncomfortable on more than several levels, and a knot pooled in her stomach. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong. I did.”

“What?”

Reimu looked down at her lap, fidgeting her fingers and desperately trying to avoid so much as catching Marisa in her peripheral vision. “I went too far on something. I started thinking in a way I shouldn’t have, and it’s jeopardizing everything. It’s making me weak. It’s putting Gensokyo in danger, to that extent.”

Marisa grimaced, softly placing her hand over Reimu’s. “Just say it. What did you do?”

Reimu, against her better judgment, lifted her head, her eyes locking with Marisa’s. It was now or never.

“I fell in love.”

Marisa’s heart skipped a beat. Was she hearing this right? “With who, the gap witch?”

“No, you idiot, use your head for a split second!” Reimu whined, her cheeks growing hot as she squirmed under Marisa’s gaze. 

“I...oh. Oh.” 

“It’s not like that, though, you have to believe me. I didn’t want this. I didn’t ask for this, it just...happened! I don’t know if it was a Yokai pulling the strings or just the craziness of being trapped here in Gensokyo with no one for human company for miles around besides you, or if I just needed a friend, I...I don’t know.”

“You stressed out that bad over someone like me?” Marisa inquired, tilting her head downwards to hide the creeping tint of red seeping into her cheeks. “You didn’t have to do that to yourself. I’m just Marisa.”

“But that’s the point,” Reimu whispered, afraid to look Marisa directly in the eyes. “You’re just Marisa. That’s my favorite part.”

The silence that stretched between the girls was not at all comparable to the uncomfortable haze that had settled on their earlier discussion. A gentle warmth almost seemed to linger in the soft glow of dusk--one that gave Marisa enough confidence to timidly move closer to Reimu, just enough that their shoulders brushed against one another. Reimu stiffened, and Marisa chided herself for making such a stupid move after such a delicate discussion. As she prepared to pull away, the feeling of Reimu resting her head on her shoulder made her flush a light pink, her toes curling as a feeling of warmth unlike anything she could describe tenderly drifted through her blood.

“You’re just Marisa,” Reimu repeated softly, closing her eyes as she snuggled into Marisa. “That’s how I like it.”

Marisa’s head thudded in her ribcage. She’d always been one to admit that Reimu could afford to be a little less uptight. And hotheaded. And angry. And scolding. And a plethora of other adjectives that Marisa had long since jotted down in a detailed mental note of things never to mention aloud around the shrine maiden. That having been said, she’d only ever imagined a more feminine, almost loving side to Reimu, and to see it take shape in the real world, or even in a world as unpredictable as Gensokyo, came as a shock. 

She smiled to herself. Gensokyo never made anything easy for her. 

“Yeah, well, whatever,” Marisa drawled, casually sliding her arm around Reimu’s shoulders, reveling in the shrine maiden’s cute blush. “You’re still the same salty old Hakurei shrine maiden that was here when I showed up. Guess time really does stand still, huh?”

Reimu cuddled in closer to Marisa. “Thank you,” she murmured. 

“It’s fine,” the magician muttered softly, placing a gentle kiss on Reimu’s forehead. “Us soulmates have to stick together, right?”


End file.
